Rabbid Guy (FFN)

by Silverwingsdragon

Worked into perpetual exhaustion at his new job, it was only a matter of time before Guy's delirious self got into an truly bizarre accident. By day, he's an ordinary man only trying to make a living, but by night he turns into his rabbid self to let loose and really live. If only his human persona remembered any of it. Cover by PuzzledDonkey !

5. Is There One That I Trust

It wasn't long before they had ridden away from the Junkard and back to the surrounding forest trail. Stickers sat in the back reading a student newspaper with a book light while Guy and Tie sat in the middle and Foster in the front, steering the warthog.

At first they were surrounded by trees, grass, and bushes, but over time the landscape had changed to the flat rocky plains of the desert.

Guy's gaze shifted from the moonlit ground and up to the infinite sky with more stars than he cared to notice in the past. For the first time he knew that somebody could be looking down at him from another world. He didn't have to imagine what some of them looked like, or even what they would think of humanity. Aliens had come to Earth in his lifetime from places fantastical. Stickers had come here, an alien invader from a magical realm. A clone soldier. A forty two year old rabbid. Aging even beyond rabbids recorded arrival to Earth. Maybe that meant there were rabbids even older out there. Maybe even older than he could imagine. Older than dinosaurs. Older than trees. The things those rabbids must have seen.

If only he could tell another human about what this meant. If only they understood the bigger picture. And to think after all this time it was rabbids that knew so much. He was goofing around on the cusp of danger with creatures nobody understood like he did now. Still, maybe it was best kept a secret.

Stickers did vow to kill him if he shared rabbid culture, and Guy was guessing it would be justified if it meant keeping his people safe. Not that he was worried. He wouldn't remember any of this by morning, but he desperately wanted to.

What if he never came back this time? Reduced to deactivated mutant DNA without conscious will. Forgetting wasn't like anything he wanted to go through again. It wasn't like falling asleep. He fought it and lost. It was more like.. dying.

"..Something on your mind Guy?" Tie asked. He wiggled his hand in a circle pointing upward, then pointed to his head, and then gestured to Guy with a quizzical expression.
"Oh.. I guess. I'm worried.." Guy said.
"Because of the humans at the casino?" Tie tilted his head.
"..Um, yeah," Guy said.
"You were pretty brave facing your coworker before. You panicked, felt better, then did something brave. Who's to say you won't become brave again?" Tie asked. He held his own shoulders and then pulled his hands forward into flexing arms.
"I wish I didn't have to be," Guy said.
"But.. you're going to the casino anyway, into a scenario where you might become afraid. You're going to have to be brave if you're going to get your pen back, right?" Tie asked. Guy played with his own hands.

"Well, maybe there's something I'm more afraid of than humans at the casino," Guy shrugged.
"..Like what?" Tie whispered, as if it was too scary to ask with vigor.

Guy couldn't face him and say something as sentimental as what he was thinking. No. He couldn't say that.

"Don't worry about it.." He said instead, "It's not something you can see."
Sticker's ears twitched.
Tie thought about what it could be. Something scary you couldn't see? Probably a ghost rabbid. He nodded at the guess, satisfied.

"Not to alarm anybody but this place we're traveling through now might be a bit dangerous, and it's hard to see much of anything right in front a' me, so just be on the lookout," Foster said.
"What could we expect to see?" Guy asked.
"Well no bandits that's for sure. They're all locked up, just like all the rest of the west," Foster said.
"Ok, so if there's no bandits.. then what?" Guy said.
"Maybe a sheriff or two," Foster said.
"Multiple sherrifs..Is that bad..?" Guy asked.
"You really aren't from around these parts are ya?" Foster said.

"That's the thing Foster. Guy's never been to the Rabbid West because he spent most of his life as a human!" Tie said. Foster turned around squinting his eyes.
"..Ya mean like you?"
"N-no..! Not like me! Like, literally! ACTUALLY," Tie got red in the face, "He even had a nose, head hair and fingers and stuff.." He crossed his arms.
"...So you're tellin' me, the rabbid we're going on a mission with used to have a nose, head hair, and fingers n' stuff, but now they don't have any a' those things because they's become a rabbid against all logic and predictability?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Tie said.
"HA!..That's a kneeslapper Jerry! I thought you were being serious for a second!" Foster said.
"I am being serious! We saw it happen! Right Tuller?" Tie looked to Stickers who put down their newspaper.

"I can vouch. Guy over here is a freak of nature," Stickers said, going back to reading. Guy accepted the remark.
"But that can't be true!" Foster said, "Guy has to be a real good liar's what I'd call it!"

"If I could say anything on the matter," Guy said, "I don't really care if you believe I'm a human or not. In fact maybe we should refrain from telling every rabbid we see..Maybe.."
"How could I!? It's the coolest thing I've ever heard or seen!" Tie said, "I think if I didn't tell everyone, I would explode!" Tie excitedly put his hands together before pretending to detonate them like a bomb.
"...If you're human.. Could you tell me when they're gonna make another wild west movie?" Foster asked. Guy opened his mouth to answer.

The ground began to rise all around them. No, no he was falling. They all were falling. He couldn't even determine how long he was going to fall before they were already crashing through wood paneling and into a room.

Tie came to him and offered a hand to help him stand. There were a lot of rabbids in a room all dressed like cowboys, farmers, and ranch hands from the eighteen hundreds.

Scooter was panicked, thrashing the entire wood and brick structure looking for an escape. The strength of the creature was on full display as he took out entire walls of bars. Bars?

Guy took a proper look and realized they had fallen into a rabbid sized jail.

Luckily it didn't look like it was made by humans. Above he could see their entry hole in the ceiling, and the canyon cliff they had fallen off. The remaining ceiling began to sway. The whole building was going to fall on top of them.

His companions began to run. Guy couldn't catch up. The rabbids were climbing over one another causing a blockage. The whole thing caved in on itself before anyone could get out of the way. The rubble on top of him reduced visible light to pin pricks. Guy didn't know up or down, but he knew he couldn't stay. He didn't want to be trapped, crushed. He flailed and pushed things out of his way, hoping it wasn't already true. Other rabbids deeper in did the same behind him. He felt them grab at his leg. They were going to drag him under! In a surge of desperate strength he moved a wood panel off him to the moonlight of the outside. He tumbled out of the rubble into open air. Dozens of rabbids were running all over the canyon town like a spilled ant farm. Some were emerging from the rubble, same as him.

"Help me!" It was the rabbid who had grabbed Guy's foot. His hand was sticking out. Guy ran back to the pile and pulled the hand. At first there was too much on top of him, but Guy got a better grip and pulled him clear of the debris. A scruffy poncho wearing rabbid with a leather hat and a drawn on beard tumbled out.

"Thank you! Thank you!" He gasped.

Behind him was two more sets of hands. Guy got to work, flipping boards off of one while the other rabbid started to pull another. Guy uncovered a rabbid wearing a brown ghillie suit whose face was almost completely covered. His neighbor pulled out a rabbid with a giant cowboy hat that just hardly fit him and some overalls. He was a little oddly shaped making him slightly thinner and taller than the others.

"Thanks for that," he took off his hat and dusted his torso with it.
"Nice to meetcha TRUE BLUE!" The rabbid with the poncho said, "The name's Rustler! Whoo-ee! You broke us out of jail! I'm the leader of the Rustler Gang here, we got Fuzzy," He pointed to the one on the ghillie suit who stuck his tongue out, "And of course Big Hat," Big Hat tilted it forward, "What's your name son?"

"Oh, I'm Guy.." Guy said he stepped on a brick to get a better view, "Have you seen a rabbid with a tie or a rabbid covered in stickers at all? I have to get out of here with them," Guy started to dig in the pile, worried.
"Not that I've seen yet! You better find them fast! Hehe! It's about to get ROWDY!" Rustler barked. He started to help dig too.

"Guy!" Tie ran up to the group, along with Stickers and Foster, "We just broke the entire west out of jail!" He flailed his arms. Guy sighed with relief at the sight of them.
"YOU! STOP! YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!" a rabbid dressed as a sheriff right down to the exceptionally shiny badge and plunger revolver started to run over to them. Guy put his hands up in surrender.

"That's not any way to do this!" Foster forcefully pulled Guy's arms back down, "Run, darn you!"
"I WILL USE FORCE!" The sheriff shouted, getting out her plunger revolver.

Guy heard the plunger shots wiz by him. Cover wasn't close enough. They were going to get hit.
Airsoft pistons rang in the air as toilet plunger shootouts began all around the canyon town.
Scooter burst out another house's wall, still causing destruction.

"Now's our chance!" Foster pointed to the hog. They all ran over to the warthog and got on, all but Foster who got up to scooter's face to comfort him, "Oh, oh, It's gonna be ok buddy. I know, I shoulda been lookin' where we were goin'. Trust me and we'll both get on outta here ok boy?" He pet the hog's snout one last time and climbed on. "Let's Go!" Foster signaled to Scooter and they began to charge through the canyon. They passed by shootouts narrowly missing them.

Sheriffs riding on turkeys saw them pass and began chasing them.
"HEY!-" They shouted.
"Can? Can they catch up to us?" Guy asked.
".. Probably," Big Hat shrugged, apathetic to the situation.
"If they so much as touch us we'll give 'em the what for!" Rustler giggled, "I wish I had something to shoot with! My trigger finger's HUNGRY."

"Who are these people again?" Tie asked he put a closed hand up to his chin and opened and closed what would've been his pointer finger.
"Why, we're the people who are gonna escape jail!" Rustler said. A plunger smacked him in the back of the head, causing him to fall forward "...Ow.." his buddies got to work trying to pull it off, but the motion of the warthog made it difficult.

"Fuzzy knows the Guy rabbid pulled him outta the fallen jailhouse! Helped old Rustler too," Fuzzy said, attempting to pull the plunger off.
Stickers' ears twitched.
"Huh. Well that's nice of him," Tie said.
"Does anybody know where we're going?" Big Hat said, shrugging.
"Fuzzy suggests a place to lay low. Maybe a dentist office," Fuzzy said.
"We were actually heading to a casino to steal a pen," Guy said, "Would that be laying low enough to escape?"
"Not very low boss, but efficient and fun! I'm down! Moments out of jail and you're already on your next job!" Rustler said.
"Sure?" Guy shrugged, "I was only in jail for like, five seconds."
"You still did time boy, don't matter how much," Rustler pointed at him.

Following a natural ramp, Foster led the warthog up and out of the canyon. On flat land they relaxed, but turned around to find two turkey jockeys using the same ramp to continue the chase.

"Are they going to follow us all the way to the casino?" Guy asked, looking behind them.
"I reckon. Them sheriffs is CRAZY! Can't put the whole west in jail without a little crazy. Probably follow us with the same amount of crazy," Rustler said.
"Typical," Big Hat sighed.
"Is there a way to get rid of them?" Tie asked.
"Fuzzy's used to have a plunger rifle.." Fuzzy said, pretending to hold it.
"The po-po took in all our firepower! But I bet we can come up with a plan in the casino! They might be cops in the west, but in the casino they're rabbids just like everyone else," Rustler relaxed and picked a bit of food stuck in his teeth.

Tie looked at Guy smiling suspiciously. It took a moment for Guy to realize what was so funny about what Rustler said.

"Don't..." He hissed.
Stickers started to smirk as well.

The west quickly turned from desert to desert road, and from desert road to a local human civilization. Every time Guy turned his head to check he could still see the silhouettes of the sheriffs on their tail, but never fast enough to catch up to them.

As they passed by businesses and apartments people out at the time stopped and stared.

Guy imagined his human self would've reacted with a similar amount of fear seeing a gang of rabbids on a massive alien hog. The hog itself had been scary enough even as a rabbid. Hopefully he wouldn't draw too much attention to himself at this time of night.

The gang went under an overpass and came out to see the casino in its neon glory and congested parking lot. Guy felt his confidence melt when he spotted it. This was definitely the place. 'Hollywood Monster Casino' on the sign. He felt a similar cold sinking feeling as going on stage for a presentation or sitting on a roller coaster about to start. He had brought everyone here for what was essentially a prank, so he couldn't lose his edge now. He was going to have to act quickly and wisely any second now.

Foster led Scooter to the front entrance where valet staff and a security guard each backed up into a wall, unable to will themselves to stop them.

Guy, Tie, Stickers and the gang hopped off the warthog, but Foster stayed put.

"I'm gonna lay low around the buildin'. Give me a holler when you're finished and I'll be there in two shakes of a warthog's tail. I don't trust old Scoot in a place with so many humans. It's not safe for an ol' breed like him," Foster said.
"Got it chief," Stickers said.
"Hopefully it'll be a quick in and out," Guy said.
"Um, You're not going to believe who just arrived but.." Tie pointed behind them to the overpass where two turkey jockeys appeared. They were only across the parking lot and were looking right at them. Fuzzy and Big Hat took the opportunity to properly pull the plunger off the back of Rustler's head.

"Welp! No dilly dallying necessary let's GET ON! with the heist!" Rustler pushed Guy right past the guard and into the entrance of the casino.
"Bye Foster!" Tie waved before following them in. Foster waved back.

Inside, the group was immediately surrounded with tropical theming, colorful carpets and endless consoles. The parking lot didn't lie. The place was packed. Groups of people were playing slot machines on the game floor and were shocked when they looked over the screen to find rabbids in the same room. They tried to focus on the consoles, hoping not to attract the rabbids' attention. Other people walking in the aisle found them to be a little more interesting however. Maybe it was the liquid courage in the air, but people passing them were a lot closer to Guy than they had willingly gotten before. His first time being a rabbid, he was hoping for this type of attention, but now it was making him uneasy.

"We need to find Jeremy fast if we're going to escape the police," Guy said, "I overheard his friends mention they were coming to drink. Maybe there's a bar we can find him at."
"Fuzzy doesn't think he knows who we're looking for..." Fuzzy said, scratching his head.
"That's ok! Because.. Because you and the gang will be our lookout! Make sure we don't run into the cops. Give us a signal if they come close," Guy said.
"Fuzzy can do that..."

"I spotted a bar," Stickers said, standing on top of a slot machine. Tie was trying to follow but couldn't get a grip.
"G-good! We can look there first," Guy turned to face the entrance and got a glimpse of the sheriffs approaching from outside, "Quick!" His voice cracked.
The gang burst into laughter at his voice crack as they split up and ran ahead.

The first bar was a small oval shaped one in the middle of the slots. Guy went around the whole thing but didn't recognize any of the people seated on the edge, at least from the poor angle he was getting. It was difficult to look them in the face for too long anyway.

"You ok?" Tie asked. He pointed to Guy, made an 'O' shape with his hand followed by a shape that would have been his pointer and middle finger up, with his thumb resting just below them.
"Yeah, yeah for the most part. I-I'm working through it. It's cool. People don't know it's me. I'm cool," Guy said. His confidence was questionable.

Stickers went around one side of the bar and Tie went around the other but didn't see anybody he recognized either.

"Maybe they're off playing games?" Tie suggested. He gave two thumbs ups and collided them knuckle to knuckle.
"Then they could be anywhere..." Guy squeaked.
"Don't panic, we just got here," Stickers said.
"Yeah! They've got to be around here somewhere! We just need to keep looking," Tie gestured to the sprawling game floor in front of them. Rustler was hiding behind a console ahead and signaled it was safe to advance.

When Guy and his companions passed him, he stopped them and pointed across the path between machines and game tables.

"This ain't a bar, but I'd like to draw attention to that there restaurant. Restaurants always have alcohol flowing don't they?" Rustler said.
"I think you're thinking of a saloon," Tie said.
The restaurant overlooked the casino with its own two foot balcony. It almost couldn't be seen since it was from such a distance.
"If it's a restaurant in a casino there's bound to be alcohol. It's worth a try," Guy said.
"I'll go ahead.." Rustler said. Out of habit he put his hand over where his holster used to be, but there was no weapon ready in case of an attack.

"Shoo-weee!" a yell coming from back the way they came. The shout was definitely from a rabbid, but not one they could see.
"A message from Fuzzy! They're near.." Rustler turned to face the sound, "Come on now! Before we get stuck in a shootout!" He urged the group to keep moving with him.
It was a stark reminder to Guy that they were being chased by rabbids he hadn't met or properly seen before. There was also a human security guard in white subtly following them and mumbling something into a handheld radio.

Hopefully his promise to Foster would come through. He'd be in and out of the casino quick and easy. If only they'd found Jermey already. It was uncomfortable enough to imagine turning back into a human, but to do it locked up in rabbid jail, or casino jail (for rabbids) was a scary thought. Waking in either would make his human self suspicious of his second life, or even more likely, blame rabbids. He could already feel the rage building up in his persona at the idea. He took a deep breath. He needed to focus on the present.

Now in front of the restaurant, Guy and his companions climbed up the little balcony and squeezed through the railing that separated the restaurant from the game floor. Rustler ran off to cover their path in secret.
A small beach themed joint, it had a bar of its own. Jeremy wasn't after food. While Tie and Stickers investigated the seated patrons, Guy went straight for the bar.

He sighed with relief. Jeremy's two friends...! but not Jeremy himself. It wasn't exactly what he was looking for, but with a little detective work maybe he could find him. There was even a good chance his pen was up there next to his buddies and Jermemy was in the bathroom. He had to be bold this time. If he was going to get up there he was going to have to climb. Luckily there was an empty bar stool next to the two buddies.

"Oh no.. Rabbid alert! Hey wait. You're kidding," One of Jeremy's friends, dressed in a blue and white patterned shirt, was starting to put two and two together. Guy tried not to let the idea of being known harm him as he pulled himself up the bar stool. He sat down next to Blue trying to act natural. Looking at the countertop, he found no pen or accompanying notepad. Of course it couldn't be as easy as taking a pen from a man away in the bathroom. If he wasn't with his friends where else could he be? Where would he go that he'd take his pen with him? Had the designated driver left his pals stranded? If anybody knew the answer, it would be these humans.. people. It was a good idea to stick around and find out.

"I think you're right. It's the same fit. You think he followed us?" One of the men, dressed in a gray camo shirt asked.
"Maybe.. Why would you think he'd do that?" Blue said. He hadn't gotten out of his chair but he leaned as far away as he could from Guy.
"Maybe he needs to tell us something," Gray Shirt said.
"Like what bro? The rabbid's gonna tell us we left our lights on?" Blue snickered.
"I dunno dude! The rabbid we saw earlier is here again. I'm trying to make sense of it K?!" Gray put his arms up which inadvertently caused Guy to flinch.

The men stopped when they saw Guy flinch, afraid again.

"..I should not have made a sudden move," Gray whispered.
"Chill dude, rabbids smell fear," Blue whispered back. They waited for Guy to act again but both parties only stared at one another.
"...Why is he just looking at us?" Blue asked.
"Does he want something? Food?" Gray asked, "I got a mint from the entrance in my pocket," He fished it out and pushed it on the counter to Blue, and then Blue pushed it down the counter to Guy. Guy was hoping he could have overheard a more natural conversation about what the men had been doing, but now he was the subject of it. If he continued to do nothing but stare the awkwardness was bound to push them away. His seat was far too valuable to let them leave. He needed them to keep talking. Eventually they'd spill the location of their friend.

Without breaking eye contact Guy put his mitten hand over the mint and picked it up. He unwrapped it and put it in his mouth.

"Huh.." Gray said.
"He's not leaving... I don't think he came for the mint," Blue said.
"Of course he didn't come for a mint. I just got that mint. Maybe he wants food food, like actual food, like when we were eating at the Mexican place. He ate the mint, maybe he's hungry," Gray said.

Guy winced. He had an opportunity to reject the mint and convey that food wasn't what he wanted. Now what were they supposed to think?

"Are you going to buy him a meal or something? Pfft! Next thing you know he's gonna follow you home!" Blue said.
Guy shook his head.
The men stopped in shock.
"He's saying he's not going to follow you home!" Blue squeaked and pointed with glee.

"Wait so, do you want food, yes or no?" Gray asked.
Guy shook his head again.
"Haha!" Blue grabbed Gray in his laughing fit, "Wait! wait! Nod your head!"
Guy rolled his eyes and nodded his head.
"HAAaa!" Blue laughed so hard he lost air, "Oh my god, oh my god! I've got to get this on video!" Blue took his phone out.

Guy's stress spiked at the idea of being recorded. In a knee jerk reaction he firmly, but gently deflected the camera by forcing Blue's hand and phone to the countertop. Blue complied the whole time. Guy patted the hand twice before letting go hoping it would keep the men and himself on good terms. Blue tried to pick his hand and phone back up but Guy forced it back down again. Both men stared and waited, surprised.

"..I don't think he wants you to take his picture," Gray said.
Guy nodded as soon as he said it.
"What reason would a rabbid have to not want their picture taken? It's not like they use the internet," Blue said.
"I thought they did though," Gray said.
Guy shrugged his shoulders, unsure. He was under the assumption that rabbids were using the internet even before he had become one, but everybody had their take on the idea.

"Could I have just one photo please! My buddy's away with his boss. I need to let him know he missed out!" Blue begged.

Guy's ears perked up when he heard the mention of Jeremy. He had to be quick while they were on the subject. Guy climbed down from the stool and acted as if he was looking for something before turning around and shrugging. While he did, he found that Blue had taken a picture of him anyway. He sighed.

"I think he's looking for something," Gray said.
Guy nodded.
"Are you looking for your buddies?" Gray crouched down to him.
Guy shook his head and pointed to Gray.
"But you can't be looking for me, I'm right here silly!" Gray smiled.
Guy winced. He was far from a child, he could do without the babytalk. Or maybe it was more like he was a pet or something. Wait, pet's and babies were.. Oh no. Gray thought he was cute.. Guy's face heated up with embarrassment. He tried to hide it with a hand while keeping up the conversation. He pointed to Blue, Gray, then an empty space on the floor and shrugged.

"What'd you do to him?" Blue asked.
"What?" Gray looked at Blue and then Guy.
"Look at him, he's all red in the face!" Blue said.
Guy clapped his hands to get them back on topic before gesturing to Blue, Gray, and the open spot in the floor again.

"Ooh! He's looking for Jeremy!"
Guy sighed deeply and nodded.
"Why's a rabbid looking for Jeremy?" Blue asked. He got off the stool and crouched down next to Gray.
"Maybe he wants to take a picture with him?" Gray asked.
It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but it could bring him closer to Jeremy.
Guy nodded.
"I would take you to him but he's in the high rollers club upstairs. He's not rich or anything, his boss invited him in. That dude looked like a mess not gonna lie. If you want we can wait for him together," Gray said.

Guy shook his head.
Blue reached to pat Guy's head, but Guy caught his hand. Blue took his hand back.
"Dude, his little hand is so soft!" Blue said, smiling.

Guy's face got red again as he began to walk back the way he came.

"Do you think he's a billionaire rabbid?" Gray asked after Guy was far enough.
"He's literally a rabbid, they don't have any money," Blue said.
"Yeah but he's a rabbid at a casino looking for the high rollers club," Gray said.
They both took a moment to visualize it.
"Billionaire rabbid."
"Billionaire rabbid."

Guy found that Stickers and Tie weren't in the restaurant where he left them. It was hard enough having that conversation without their aura to calm him. Now he was alone and still hunted. Being at the restaurant, he overlooked the casino from the foot high platform it was on. He saw an escalator to the next floor nearby, so to get out of sight he slipped out of the restaurant and began to trek to the next floor.

Guy was alone, but he understood where he had to go. It didn't matter if there wasn't anyone to help him as long as he was patient and looked where he was going, right? He could find out where they were after getting the pen. Hopefully they hadn't all been caught.

While he rode the escalator more people took pictures of him. Guy found rabbids more of an acquired taste when it came to looks, but many people in the casino thought otherwise. Not only was it messing with his sense of self since nobody had thought of him as cute since he was a nine year old, but the attention was bound to give away his location.

There wasn't much he could do about it but keep moving. Try not to let people slow him down.

The second floor was much like the previous, but with a lot more table games and pool being played. There wasn't even any extra security. Clearly the entire second floor wasn't designated to the high rollers.

Guy spotted it. The guarded entrance going up to the high rollers across the floor.

If he was going to be hidden it was best to avoid the aisle and move around the tables. He entered the narrow avenues crowded with seated legs and tried to hug the walls without actually touching the seats of the players. It was concerning that he didn't see any rabbids yet.

Any human could scoop Guy up off the ground and nobody would be able to help him. It never occurred to Guy that having people fear him could be a good thing until now. On the other hand, Guy wouldn't have gotten the information he needed without Blue and Green starting to think he was cute instead of scary, so he was complaining about something that had helped after all.

"Psst! Guy!" It was Stickers under a table. Guy held his chest with relief as he snuck under the table to greet them.
"Where's Jerry? What happened? You guys left me all alone?" Guy whispered.
"The sheriffs were heading right toward us while you were with those two men we saw earlier. We split up to get attention off of you, but now we're still separated. Do you know what to do?"
"I do actually! There's a high roller lounge just that way," Guy pointed, "Up there's where Jeremy is. If we can just sneak in we should be able to secure the pen and get out."
Stickers grinned for a second.
"What?" Guy asked.
"You said that in a very rabbid way.." Stickers said.
"I did? W-What do you mean? Is that good?" Guy asked.
"It's what it is," Stickers said. He was about to crawl out from under the table.

"Yeah.." Guy sighed, building up his confidence, "Hey, before we go, why did you want to do this with me tonight? After you threatened me? I mean, Why hang out with someone you don't really like?"
"I don't trust humans Guy, I never said I didn't like you," Stickers said, staying under the table.
"Yeah, but you also pinned me to a tree and threatened to hurt me, and you threatened to kill me at the Junk.. Junkard," Guy said.
"I know what I did," Stickers said.
"So, are you saying you're not mad at me?"
"I'm concerned with you," Stickers mumbled.
Guy thought about it.
"But.. what do you mean by that?" Guy asked.
"It means I need to wait and see," Stickers said.
"So you can see if you can trust me?" Guy asked.

Stickers sighed.
"You know Guy, " they made eye contact, "I don't think you have a very clear grasp of what a person like you means to rabbids like us."
"Ok.."
"You don't seem to take seriously what you are, and what it's like to have something like that invade rabbid spaces the way you can. It's not your fault, but if I trusted you and the people I love ended up in danger because of that choice, there would be violence you could not contain." They squeezed their fists.

"I-I believe it.." Guy stood still, intimidated, "I wish I could make it easier for you."
"If you want to make it easier for me, be patient. And forget all about that stupid human stuff corrupting your brain," Stickers' poked Guy's forehead.
"You.. don't want me to be human," It was something he already knew, but it still disappointed him.
Stickers waited for Guy to say something, but the man made rabbid was too conflicted.
"I want to trust you the same way I trust rabbids," Stickers clarified.
"You can't trust a human?" Guy asked. It lacked offense.
"Remember what I said about being patient?" Stickers asked.
Guy rethought it.
"You don't know yet.. if you can trust a human," Guy said, understanding it better.
Stickers nodded.
"Well.. I look forward to when you figure it out," Guy sighed.
"You'll know when I do," Stickers said. Guy waited for a smile, but their face remained neutral. Of course they didn't smile. They took their decision seriously, and it was too soon for them to make up their mind.

Within Stickers' pending decision was the ability to take back every kind gesture they had ever given him. If that ever came to pass, Guy could only assume he was truly a horrible person after all. The worst part was how possible of a future it seemed, even if he had no idea what he would do to make it real.

"SHoo-eee!"
If it was the same type of call, it was far too close to Stickers and Guy.
"What do we do?" Guy ducked and looked for sheriffs.
"Wait until you see them. If we get out before we know where they are, we could run right into them," Stickers said. Guy nodded. He focussed, looking for white furred movement around his height. He spotted two sheriffs coming their way, but they hadn't yet noticed them. Luckily they weren't blocking the path to the high rollers club.

Guy patted Stickers to get their attention on the incoming cops.
"What now?" Guy whispered.
"Now we know where to run!" Stickers climbed out from under the table. Guy followed. They were making a beeline for the high rollers club.

"STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!" one sheriff shouted when she saw them. She opened fire with her plunger gun. She wore a leather cowboy hat with crocodile teeth sown in, and a tan homemade police uniform. Next to her following suit was a sheriff wearing a rusty medieval helm with a faded cowboy hat forced on top. Besides the chain mail poncho and chain lasso, he wore a stained and horribly torn striped shirt and muddied overalls. He hobbled and groaned as if a zombie with a limp.

Guy didn't have time to question their looks. He was about to pass the guard by the high rollers entrance. Unlike the other human security, this one took his job seriously.

Like a goalie he widened his stance and pounced at Guy, snatching him in an uneven grip. The impact was enough to knock the air out of him. He forced Guy into a single arm hold while stumbling after Stickers. The man was so determined to keep Guy from slipping out that it was becoming difficult to breathe. Guy tried to force the arm open by pushing it off him but it barely gave his lungs space to inhale. Instead of giving up, the urge to escape strengthened, doubled. He flailed and twisted, getting a better grip and pried harder. He was starting to push the arm apart. The security guard noticed. He stopped chasing Stickers to attempt to secure Guy with both arms.

"Oi! That's our bounty!" The sheriff wearing tan and her zombie partner shot their plunger guns at the guard, distracting him further. Stickers took the opportunity to step back and jump up on the security's chest, climbing up by his clothes. The guard tried to slap him off, but Stickers caught the arm in his mouth and bit down. Like fire had caught the guard, he immediately dropped Guy and put his everything into getting Stickers off him.

Seeing Guy on the ground, the sheriffs continued to chase him amidst the chaos.
"Can't we talk about this?" Guy said, trying to go up the stairs to the club without getting hit, which was starting to become more difficult. He tried to keep an eye on them and move unpredictably, but he was still climbing oversized stairs all the same.
"What's there to talk about? You're the one who trashed the slamma! Turning you in bound to keep crime under control from now on!" the sheila said.
"Bwarrrg!" her partner groaned.
"What ever happened to 'innocent until proven guilty!?' Isn't there like a rabbid court?" Guy said, nearly slipping up a step.
"We know what we saw! Besides, rabbid court's for nerds!" the sheila shouted.
"Neeeerrrrds!"

The zombie sheriff shot Guy in the chest. It didn't stick but hurt enough to slow him. The sheriffs caught up to him and aimed at his face. In an instant he was blinded by the shot, but he wasn't entirely powerless just because he had a plunger stuck to his face. He stumbled forward and grabbed whatever was in front of him.

"Ah bugger!" Sheila wrestled Guy for her plunger gun. She couldn't see from under the plunger stuck to his face but he was smiling the whole time. He wasn't any stronger than Sheila, but he did have the high ground. When he got a good grip on the gun he twisted and kicked her down the stairs, unfortunately along with her gun. Hopefully she wasn't too hurt by this, somehow Guy thought it was rude. Well, she did shoot him. Guy shrugged as if anyone other than him could hear his thoughts.

Unable to see anything, he was quickly overwhelmed when the zombie sheriff pouched on him. This rabbid was definitely stronger than him and Sheila. Was that the chain mail or was he about to handcuff him? Either way, Guy at least had some fight left in him. He swung to punch the zombie's helm protected head but it hardly had any effect. That was until the zombie sheriff seemed to fly off for no reason. Maybe it was a delayed effect?

"Ha! You got shot!?" It was Stickers! If any rabbid could make another vanish from the perspective of the blind, it was him.
"Thank you!" Guy tried to say, but it was muffled so much he wondered if the message even got through. He gave a thumbs up to finalize the spirit of the statement at least. Stickers picked him up over his shoulder and climbed the rest of the steps as fast as he could. They were definitely still being chased.

At least Guy didn't have to make eye contact with humans right now.
Stickers slowed before placing Guy down on cold tile.

"I don't know if we lost them, but we can't steal the pen if you can't see it. I'm going to try and pull the plunger off your face by myself," Stickers explained, "Hold on to this and don't let go."

Stickers guided Guy's hands to a handle of some sort. Maybe made out of metal?
Stickers started to pull on the plunger, catching Guy off guard. To pull at their top strength Stickers had pulled Guy taught as a rope, his feet off the ground. It didn't hurt yet but his neck was starting to feel the pressure. Being so durable as rabbids were, he was hoping that also made his spine indestructible too. His grip wasn't so much. Guy let go, flinging himself awkwardly into a wall, probably along with Stickers too. Stickers picked him up again and put him back in front of the handle.

"We're going to try that again.." Stickers said.
Guy gave a thumbs up. He grabbed the handle again and waited for Stickers to pull. This time Guy was determined not to let go. It felt like his wrists and neck would pop out of place when instead, the plunger's seal broke and he fell flat on the ground. He gasped for breath and rubbed his face. It never occurred to him that he might not have been breathing that whole time. Maybe it was a space alien thing.

Looking up, Guy realized they were in an empty kitchen, possibly under renovation.

"Thanks for that," He said, giving Stickers a thumbs up again.
"Don't mention it," Stickers said, " You should know before we go that this place is on high alert.. The human guards are not taking our trespassing lightly. If they haven't called the verminators yet they will soon. We need to hurry," Stickers said.
"Right!" Guy nodded, "Uh, what's the plan?"
"I thought that was your thing for this mission."
"Right.." Guy thought for a moment, "I meant more, what's your advice?"
Stickers rolled his eye.
"We need to be fast and smart. It's darker up here so we can afford to hide, but with such a high alert, we need to keep moving and be able to quickly escape if necessary," Stickers said.

"Gotcha," Guy said, "Have you seen Jerry?"
"No, but I'm sure he's fine. Probably still downstairs with the gang. They don't seem to have as much of a problem with rabbids down there so I'm not worried," Stickers said.
"Makes sense. Are you ready?" Guy asked, about to leave the kitchen. Stickers nodded.

Leaving the kitchen introduced them to an empty restaurant being renovated with all of its tables and chairs oddly stacked and pushed out of the way. Outside the restaurant the whole floor was dark with neon glowing from black lights and fancy gas signs. It had a deep sea theme, not without actual fish tanks and open fountains built into the walls.

In one corner, a large crowd had gathered around a poker table, including a camera crew. In another, a bowling alley rattling with a satisfying song of struck pins.

Guy tried to keep to the walls and hide behind the extra fabric on his ragged shirt.
In contrast the humans here were dressed with the finest materials. At just a glance Guy could tell the thread counts were high, and the jewelry was very real.

Not too long ago at all, he had wanted nothing more than to be surrounded by these people in a place like this. A large part of him still did. It definitely looked fun to wager, to bowl, and play games with the real money. With all that power, people would stutter at his arrival, show him some respect for all the good work he suffered through. He could double his money or lose bigger than anyone ever had, but it wouldn't matter because he was rich, and being rich was being free.

Well, free in a way. It was definitely an aspiration his human self had, but not something his rabbid self needed or could realistically obtain anymore. It was actually kind of a relief. He always assumed he'd only find peace once he was wealthy, since there was no higher happiness a person could pursue.
He was glad to know he didn't have to suffer for that future anymore. Dedicating all of his time to being rich hadn't resulted in the way that he imagined. To think, if he said no to his manager he would never have become a rabbid. Whatever this change meant for the future was all his fault, for better or for worse.

As an ugh.. example, Jermey would have never turned into a rabbid given the same circumstances. Jeremy had plans, friends, and a respect for his present self. Guy had given up his present for something that wasn't even in his future. Amongst his peers, he'd been humiliated by circumstance as a result.

Speak of the devil.
While under a table near the bowling alley, Guy silently spotted Jeremy and Walsh. The young man sat attentive to his boss at a quiet bar away from most people, although clearly not having fun. In comparison, Walsh was visibly upset. Frowning and shaking his head, his hand death gripping a beer. Guy couldn't hear what all the fuss was about, but he worried for his human self if it had anything to do with the research center. The time to get a different job had passed long ago. If it got any worse maybe Guy would die on the job for real. If he died as a human..? He'd have to worry about it later.

Guy tapped Stickers who was scanning the area next to him. He pointed to Jeremy.

"Pen spotted," Guy whimpered. He looked back to Stickers and silently gasped. Sheila came out of hiding, several tables across from them. She was making an aim, hoping they wouldn't run.
"Tuller!" Guy hissed to get Sticker's attention. Stickers saw her and looked for a way to exit. The zombie sheriff popped out a table next to them.
"Boo!" He said, shooting Stickers in the face. Stickers made a muffled comment, crossing their arms.
"No!" Guy said. He ducked to avoid another shot from the zombie sheriff and got hit in the chest by Sheila from across the room. Luckily it didn't stick. Stickers pushed Guy and pointed vaguely to Jeremy. Guy understood and started to run into the aisle toward Jeremy and Walsh. Out in the open, they alerted a guard who started to chase them. Closer to the zombie sheriff, the guard targeted him, allowing Guy to slip away behind the bar.

"No! No-no-no!" Walsh gasped.
"What?" Jeremy asked. Guy couldn't see them from behind the bar.
"Did you see that? Rabbids! Here? Oh my god.." Walsh said. He was shivering.
"Ohh. My friends downstairs saw some too.. Are you ok? I can drive you home if you're afraid," Jeremy said.

A bartender next to Guy spotted him. Guy put what would have been his pointer finger to his mouth and shushed. The bartender avoided eye contact. Good.

"No, no, I don't want to ruin your night any more than I already have," Walsh said.
Guy sighed as he started to climb the business side of the bar.
"You're not ruining my night sir, I really am happy to help you. Sure, it's not what I had in mind, but I think what's going on with you is more urgent," Jeremy said.
"Don't fool yourself into thinking I'm so important. I'm a selfish, selfish man Jeremy," Walsh sniffed. He might have some honesty in him after all.
"You're drunk, of course you feel bad. After you sleep it off I'm sure you'll change your mind," Jeremy said.

Guy peeked over the bar. Jeremy's notepad, and his pen! He tried to silently reach for it.
"Maybe, but is that really for the best? That terrible selfish people walk free, sleeping off their guilty minds?"
"I, I don't follow.. Oh geez!?" Jeremy shouted, frightened when he spotted Guy extending his arm towards the pen. Guy was so surprised he fell backward. Jeremy looked over the bar to see if he was ok. Walsh did the same.

"A rabbid!?" Walsh cried, "I knew it! They're after me!"
"Calm down sir, why would rabbids be after you?" Jeremy tried not to smile at the ridiculousness of it.
Walsh only quivered harder in response.
Guy got up and started climbing the bar as fast as he could.
"Hey! I know this rabbid! My buddy just sent a pic of him looking for me. Says he's friendly," Jeremy said, gesturing to the photo on his phone.
"..So they're after us both.." Walsh breathed. He kept staring at Guy, paler than he was.
"After me? Dude, I mean sir, excuse me, It's not like he's trying to eat me. He's a rabbid not a... polar bear," Jeremy said.

When Guy got to the top of the bar again he made no hesitation swiping the pen.
"Hey!" Jeremy scoffed.
Guy was startled by the scoff, so he quickly pulled Foster's pen to pacify him with a trade,
"A rollerball pen?" Jeremy accepted it, but was still puzzled, "Did he just want my pen..?"

Guy froze and noticed the bizarre stare Walsh had locked on him and couldn't look away.
The man was conflicted, heavily breathing, like he was trapped in Guy's gaze of all the same. It was as if he was a terrified animal flashing its fangs and flattening its ears. If Guy ran he was sure to be pummeled. By the way he looked at him, it was as if... as if.

"Jeremy go home," Walsh said.
"Huh?"
"Go. Home."
"Oh.. ok..?"

Jeremy got up and left without another word.
Guy's insides got cold watching Jeremy leave. As soon as he was out of view Walsh lunged at him. Guy fell down the bar again and tried to run out the way he came. Walsh was faster, blocking the way out and barreling right for him. Guy ran the other way and into the bar's tiny kitchen.

Walsh followed. A cook tried to block the madman, but he pushed him into a shoving match. While they bickered, Guy slipped past them and out of the bar into the high rollers club. Walsh watched Guy leave, getting out of the cook's grip. Hardly a moment had passed before he burst out of the kitchen doors after him. He saw Guy about to leave his sight. He was about to lose him, panic consuming him.

"Don't you dare Kowalczyk!" He barked. Guy froze. He turned to face him, "You will NOT be the ruin of me! If I don't catch you, the verminators will! I'll make sure they freeze for eternity! You hear me?!" Tears were flowing down his guilt ridden face. It struck Guy. He knew. He saw right through the lie and straight into the coworker behind it. He knew, even blaming himself, threatening him with the one thing that could shut down a rabbid for good. The club started to sway, his entire body shivering. His ears flat on his head, his mouth open, aghast, panting.

Walsh could tell any lie he wanted, and he'd freeze Guy into his rabbid form forever, keeping the secret. A forced coma he could only wake from if the verminators decided to thaw him, but who knew how long it would be, if they ever did. He could wake up hundreds of years in the future, distant from the world he used to know, or maybe he would never be brought back at all, the verminators finally finding a way to end a rabbid's life. It was more evil than he had ever seen right in front of him and it was paralyzing.

He had to leave, run! Just do something! He snapped back to the present, nearly tripping into a table leg. He started to head for the stairs to the second floor, but he stopped. Stickers and the sheriffs were still up here. If Guy left them and they got mixed up with Walsh and the verminators they were bound for a fate similar. If he let that happen he was nearly as bad, and probably qualified for having his head removed by Stickers the following day.

He turned around to go look for them but found that Walsh was following him, although was fading in his drunken state. Guy ran past his swiping arms. He panicked when he didn't see the rabbids where they were last. It was like all he could hear was his own breathing.

"Tuller!?" He called, "Tuller?! We need to leave!" He turned to find Walsh was still after him, walking diligently with the same crazed look. He spotted security chatting, distracted.
"HEY! I am the only one willing to do anything about this rabbid here!?" He shouted at them. They got to work, not actively chasing, but trying to corner Guy. Guy kept looking, weaving back under tables all while the security and his madman manager kept track of him from a distance.

"Tuller?!"
People playing pool around him stared. Of course none of them could understand what he was saying. Guy was mixed on the idea of any of them knowing the truth. Conflicted on being seen as a rabbid, conflicted on being seen as a human. It didn't matter now. They were getting closer to cutting him off. One even had a tablecloth, ready to snatch him up if given the opportunity. Guy wished he could see all of them from where he was, but he was far too short to get a good view. They were herding him toward the bowling alley.

By the lanes people watching the scenario play out actually saw what was causing the commotion. Most of them hardly paid any mind, not wanting to get in the way of employees taking care of a delicate situation.
The guards were herding him closer to the lanes. Eventually he was going to run out of room against them, but it gave Guy an idea. The lanes were slippery, but there was a strip of walkable alleyway in between each one. If he ran on one and hopped from one to the other, he could slip up his much larger and less nimble pursuers. Still, it was risky to go all the way back there and leave himself with even less room to run on. He only needed to stay standing longer than they did, then he could run back to the casino floor while they were still trying to get back up, but they had to slip.

Getting closer, they had forced Guy to face the bowling lanes. Having run out of options, he set his plan into motion. Just as a guard got close enough to lunge at him, he evaded, running down the walkable strip. They climbed over one another in an attempt to follow him, but could hardly keep their balance and match Guy's pace at the same time. It was working so far, but he needed to keep his focus. If he slipped up it would be so easy to catch him now.

Far enough down the strip, it was time for him to make some real distance and jump to the next strip over. The distance seemed so much smaller when he was a human, and rabbids had such little legs. No, no, he had to jump. He'd seen Stickers and Tie jump just fine before, tiny legs be damned. A quick glance at the men gaining on him flushed away his doubts. It didn't matter how, he just had to get away.
He jumped over the lane and put his arms out for balance on the landing. Perfect, but he couldn't slow down. When the guards saw him, one accidentally put one foot on a lane and sent him fumbling, grabbing onto his coworker which didn't save him either.

Walsh wasn't tangled in their mess and jumped. He landed on the same strip as Guy but couldn't keep his balance. He fell backward and into the middle of the lane. He struggled to get up, slipping after getting the least bit of footing. Despite everything Guy found it hard not to smile at how ridiculous Walsh looked. It was a better time than ever to keep moving. Guy jumped across to the next lane, a bowling ball passing him, reminding him that some people were still trying to play somehow. Glancing at the players, he could see they were beyond annoyed at the situation. If only they could aim all that energy toward stopping the active murder attempt happening right in front of them.

Guy jumped to the next strip, but didn't quite stick the landing. He swore as he started to fall backward, trying to stop his fall by placing his foot in the lane, but the little tracton he did find began to wane. He had to try and get himself to fall forward. His madman manager saw this loss of balance just as he was pulling himself up to a strip behind him. Guy spotted him.
It was almost enough for him to give up and start to cry. He was about to slip and Madman was a jump away from grabbing him. Too weak to fall forward, Guy fell back into the lane. He tried to right himself but he kept slipping. Panic settled in. Madman was reaching for him, sliding on his belly and holding on to his current strip. The guards were shouting behind them.

Guy saw Madman getting close.

"..Don't do this," He breathed, hoping that maybe some of it could be understood. Madman didn't reply, still determined, most of his body flat on the lane now. Suddenly a bowling ball speeding down the lane struck Madman in the head. He held his face before being hit again harder directly afterward. He fainted, arm and body going limp. Guy looked to see Sheila, the zombie sheriff, and Stickers who still had a plunger on his face and was handcuffed.

"I'd call that a nice spare, right Justy?" Sheila said. She was referring to her zombie friend.
"Bwaaarg!" He groaned.
"We'll take the bounty from here! 'Sides, lying to get a rabbid frozen for life's mighty illegal. Good bonk on the head might fix him up's what I'd say," Sheila said.
"Bonk.." The zombie sheriff put a fist in his hand. Guy could just cry with relief. He flipped himself on his belly and pulled himself with great effort to the next strip. He traveled down it back to the bowlers and the rabbids. The two security staff struggled to follow.

"Going to turn yourself in I reckon?" Sheila said as Guy approached.
"Forget about that, we need to leave! We're all in danger as long as we're associated with that madman back there," Guy pointed. He headed back into the game floor, the other three rabbids following.
"Good point. Heard what he said to you before. It's like hardly anything I've ever heard between a human and a rabbid in a long time. He was on your tail for a while after that. Nearly lost you until now. And this one wouldn't shut up about you shouting," She gestured to Stickers.
"They're my friend. Please, could we get these restraints off them, they could really help us if we get into more trouble," Guy tried to pull on the plunger's handle. He turned to see the guards still struggling. It was actually worse than what he expected at this point, or maybe they weren't after him, but going to check on Madman.

"But he's an outlaw," She crossed her arms and raised a brow.
"Please! I don't want them to get caught because there's all this stuff on him," Guy said.
"Ah bugger, I suppose it is the greater good. We'll call a truce and catch you some other time, k?" Sheila tapped her foot. The zombie sheriff snapped his 'fingers', disappointed.
"Yes, that's fine! Please, just help me free my friend," Guy said. He pulled on the plunger's handle and Sheila pulled it opposite by Sticker's body. A moment later Sticker's face was free. He gasped for air.

"He knows who you are..!" Stickers said. The zombie sheriff stood behind him unlocking his handcuffs.
"Who? Is this a cryptic shaman message?" Sheila asked.
"They're talking about my manager," Guy clarified, "I know, what do I do? My human self won't remember, I'll be vulnerable."
"He can't hurt you as a man. The verminators don't freeze humans," Stickers said.
"Yeah, but what if he stalks me, tries to catch me mid transformation. I can hardly move when that's happening," Guy said. Sheila looked at her partner and made a gesture like Guy was insane.
"We'll talk more about it later," Stickers said.
"Right.." Guy said.

With the security guards distracted for now, Stickers was safe to lead the rabbids down to the second floor. Guy and Stickers called out to Fuzzy and Big Hat, the rabbids that were bound to still be up there.

"Psst! Shooee! Fuzzy sees the cop right behind you!" Fuzzy whispered peeking from behind a console.
"And I can see you behind that funny machine! Pfft. Outlaw," Sheila said. Her zombie friend shook his head, disappointed.
Big Hat appeared behind a parallel console.
"What's happening? Did we lose..? Typical," He grumbled.
"We made a truce. Besides, we got the pen. It's time we make our escape," Guy said.

Fuzzy and Big Hat shrugged and followed Stickers along with the rest of the group on the escalator going to the first floor.
Back on the first floor, it didn't take long for them to find Rustler and Tie either. A small crowd had gathered around them, as they were playing Uno at a poker table along with some humans. Blue and Gray were amongst the humans, who had an embarrassing amount of cards. Jeremy was watching as well, arriving late after his boss had dismissed him. He stepped back at first seeing all the rabbids approaching, but relaxed when he saw Guy.

"Hey again little guy, what'd he want with you?" Jeremy asked when he saw Guy. Guy tried to remember that 'little guy' was just something you said to small things like baby brothers, and was not in fact referring to his name.
"It's complicated.." Guy said. He caught himself. He didn't need to say anything to Jeremy. He wouldn't understand his vague excuse anyway.
"Yeah that dude's definitely a work in progress.. Sorry you had to deal with that," Jeremy scratched the back of his head. He at least understood the tone.

"Jerry!? Rustler!? We have the pen, we have to leave!" Stickers shouted.
Tie had two cards left and looked like he was about to explode.
"Ah SHUCKS. Eh, I wasn't going to win anyway.." Rustler said, with seven cards.
"I..I WOULD HAVE..." Tie said, still holding back his fury about having to leave the game. He revealed he had two wild cards left.
"Shooo... HAHA!" Rustler said.

"NOW! EVERYONE!" Stickers stomped to get their attention. Even the humans stopped and looked.

The rabbids gathered together to leave, ironically just as four verminators entered the building. The jumpsuiters watched without much input as the fluffle they were meant to remove did their job for them. Once outside, the verminators continued to watch, but they stepped back in surprise when the giant warthog appeared.

"Cripes almighty!" One of them shouted at the sight.
Foster shivered, staring directly at the verminators while even more rabbids than last time mounted Scooter.
"What in the yonder did you get into in there?" Foster said, "And we are bringing the sheriffs with us?"
"It's a truce," Stickers said.
"Ah I see," Foster understood immediately, "I hope you verminators don't mind, but I'm going to go now. Please don't follow.."
The verminators didn't respond but one waved at him.
"Good enough... Let's go Scoot!" Foster commanded Scooter. The warthog turned around and charged back into the darkness.

As Guy watched the casino get farther and farther he noticed Madman step out and spot him. He didn't do anything but watch, defeated. Guy stared back. At least it was over for now.

Tie noticed his gaze.
"Who's that?" Tie put his thumb to his chin and opened and closed what would've been his pointer finger.
"My manager.. He knew who I was," Guy said.
"No..Are you sure?" Tie asked.
"He tried to catch me for the verminators. He was going to have them freeze me forever so that nobody would ever know his research center led this to happen to me," Guy explained.
Tie silently gasped.
"That's horrible!" Tie made a ring with each hand by connecting what would've been his ring fingers and thumbs, and then pretended to throw something in the air while opening the rings.

"I don't know what to do Jerry," Guy said, "I never thought he'd do something like this. I'm going to go to work tomorrow and he'll be there. He's after me and I won't have a clue until it's too late.."
"Relax Guy, that man doesn't know how you work. And he can't get you arrested as a human unless he wants you to transform in front of witnesses and ruin the whole secret," Stickers said, "We'll be there before you transform if it happens to be the same time as the last two nights. So far it's been consistent. If we can help it, we'll make sure your crazy manager stays away, and stays the only one who knows."

"Are you sure? If you run into my boss, or even me, it could be dangerous," Guy said.
"You underestimate rabbids Guy. If I want to get away with something, I will," They gave an almost devious grin.
"Thank you.." Guy said.

"Fuzzy doesn't know if he understands this conversation.." Fuzzy whispered to the rest of the rabbids.
"It's not that hard to understand, outlaw. The Guy one just thinks he's going to transform into a human," Sheila said.
The zombie sheriff snorted with intrigue.
"An escapist from the rabbid day to day..Boring but at least it's novel," Big Hat muttered.
"Ehh. I give the phase a week. If office spaces become a new genre I'll eat my HAT," Rustler said.

They gave one last look to the casino before the warthog ran out of its view.

The warthog delivered them back to the canyon town where the rabbids got off.
Sheriffs and outlaws had seemed to also truce here, and were working together to rebuild some of the rickety structures that had been destroyed in their previous battle.

"Well would you look at that," Rustler said in awe. The place was looking much livelier already with brand new lights, fire pits, and live music.
"FUZZY WANTS TO GO TO THE SALOON!" Fuzzy shouted, pointing to the joint and ran on in.
"We were literally just at a casino.." Big Hat grumbled, following anyway. Everyone else felt compelled to do the same. Inside they were greeted with many gnarly patrons arm wrestling, drinking, playing cards or chess (the one where you think really hard). One rabbid was even gluing dirt to things in order to make it seem more rustic.

"How come everyone's so jolly or whatever," Guy asked as they sat down at a table.
"Well now, The West is like an ecosystem Guy," Rustler said, "When there's too many predators like the aussie here and the Spectre of Justice, nobody has any fun. Now that most of the West runs loose we can start making up classic stories again."

"You callin' ME a predator when you stole forty of our turkeys completely unprovoked!?" Sheila said.
"But it was fun chasing me right?"
"I haven't seen them since!"
"But... it was fun chasing me-"
She slapped him so hard he fell into a table and his hat flew off.
"SheESH.." He said, picking himself up.
"Whatever. The truce will be finished tomorrow and I'll make you recover everything you'd ever stolen from me," Sheila said.
She paused when a waiter came over to order them drinks.

"Doubt even I could find all that. It's kind of awe inspiring the amount I can steal and then forget where I put it. I'm like a SQUIRREL that way," Rustler said, "Like all of these mints and chips from the casino," He took them out of his pockets, "Oh, also this magic eight ball. Won't tell me nothin' about my future though. Useless piece of CRAP." He slapped the eight ball which made it start to slowly spin across the table. Foster hit it back the same way, starting a back and forth.

"Can I be a bandit too if I stole these Uno cards?" Tie showed them off.
"A very beautiful haul!" Fuzzy took a look at them.
"You wanna play? I didn't get to finish my game before," Tie asked. He made 'Y' shapes with his hands and shook them.
"Fuzzy is very willing to play with them," Fuzzy said.

"Maybe we should bet something for the winner to win or something.." Big Hat shrugged.
"I don't have anything to bet," Tie shrugged.
"Just get to playing! Uno's already complicated as is with all the house rules," Sheila said, her root beer coming back with the waiter.
"You're going to have to explain the rabbid house rules, I'm used to playing with humans," Guy said while Tie handed out the cards.

"Humans? Ha! I used to play with teensies in the Old West. They always wanted to play only using the rules on the rule card. Those games were so BORING," Rustler said.
"Teensies?" Guy asked.
"Won't find 'em in these parts. They're from The Dreamworld or The Glade as they call it. Much more intense west out there. They were a common hostage for me," Rustler said.
"Is that the magical world? With wizards and frog people?" Guy asked. He looked to Stickers.
Stickers nodded.
"That's the one! I spent over a hundred years in that there realm. The games here are less intense, but I'm more contented know'n no plant monster or dragon or fae folk's gonna interrupt a good old RUSTLER GRIFT from now on," Rustler said.

"M-mind, I ask how old you are, Rustler?" Guy asked, in awe.
"Mmm.. If I could properly recall, it may be one hundred and thirty years or so. I don't really remember my first fifteen to twenty years of life all that much. I was cloned before The Glade. Not a good place," Rustler shivered, "Alright let's GET WITH THE GAME! COME ON! Any Outlaws win we get our guns back, how's that sound?"
"Only if it's your gang, not the prison breakers," Sheila said.
"Deal. First to two out of three. And somebody teach Guy the house rules, I don't feel like explaining anything anymore, it's hurting my BRAIN!" Rustler said. He swiped Sheila's root beer while she wasn't looking.

The rest of the night was spent in the saloon, with plenty of games to play and mello out the night.

Guy found the rabbid version of Uno a bit more violent, as certain cards activated slapping or arm wrestling as a way to defend from card penalties, but it was never out of causing pain as much as it was about reaction time (unless outlaws were playing against sheriffs and vice versa). The only rabbid not willing to slap him properly was Tie, who almost always resorted to brushing his hand lightly over Guy's face in a pathetic attempt.

It was odd to think that any rabbid Guy had met could be from places far beyond his understanding like how Stickers and Rustler were. Rustler was older than any human currently living, and it wasn't even a big deal to anyone. Guy couldn't imagine the next hundred years or expected he would live to see it, but maybe that wasn't true anymore. He was still half man, but as a half rabbid, would he age? If he continued to age as a human, it would at least be nice to always return to his ever spry rabbid self. If he didn't age as a human, it would only be a matter of time before people became suspicious. Dermatologists would especially hate him.

He supposed it was something for his future self to worry about. He already had a lot on his plate in the present. If he survived long enough to have the age thing be a problem he decided he should consider himself lucky.

After a movie projected in the saloon was over, Guy and his companions walked outside talking and shooting cans. Stickers was teaching Tie how to shoot a borrowed plunger gun, which Guy stood and watched against a building.

The sky outside the canyon cracks was starting to lighten up. Maybe it was just his inner fears about forgetting the beauty and the terror, but his heart was beginning to quicken, and his breath was starting to shorten. He didn't want it to be true. It wasn't necessarily painful, but the fear was so consuming that maybe he would've preferred it to hurt if it didn't have to make him so afraid. Last time he had run away to hide from something he couldn't escape from, and he was already feeling like trying to get away again. He was far from home. What would his human self do if he woke up here? Was this considered a rabbid secret?

Stickers turned to notice that Guy was shivering, with an expression of great dread. He stopped teaching to look up at the brightening sky. Tie watched Stickers, confused by his change in demeanor.

"What..?" Tie tilted his head.
"I don't think he has much night left.." Stickers said, gesturing to Guy.
"Oh! Oh no.. We lost track of time! What do we do?" Tie said, "If he changes here it might be problematic. We are trying to keep the human Guy from knowing too, right?"
"Right."
"That means we have to bring him home! Go get Foster please and thank you!" Tie said.
Stickers nodded.
Tie sighed. Guy was close by, but it was clear he was stuck in his own head again.
Tie approached Guy, not exactly sure what to expect.

"...Hey dude, you doing ok?" He asked.
Guy shook his head.
"I.. I think I'm gonna change back," He said, "I don't know what'll happen.. I don't want to change back, I don't want to forget.."
"But you won't forget forever! We'll still be out here waiting for you to remember when you turn tonight. Don't worry. We're going to get you home. You can just focus on trying to relax, ok?" Tie said, pushing his palms toward the ground.
"I'm sorry..." Guy said.
"For what?" Tie asked.
"I'm.. I'm so messed up all the time. You guys keep having to take care of me..." Guy mumbled. With one hand he held his head and the other had a death grip on the wall he was leaning on.
"You think that bwathers us?" Tie asked.
Guy shrugged.
"Well, it doesn't because you know why?" Tie asked. He walked up to Guy to whisper in his ear, "We're all messed up all the time too."

Stickers ran over with Foster and Scooter.
"Wait so he's what?" Foster asked.
"He's turning into a human," Stickers said.
"Great gizmos! Now?" Foster took a peek at Guy as he was scared he might see something out of the ordinary.

"We need to bring him back to his house. Jerry, do you remember how to get there?" Stickers said.
"What are stalkers for?" Tie smiled.
"Then let's get going! I do not wanna get caught carrying a human if they associate Scooter with kidnappin!" Foster said.

Tie led Guy up on the warthog's back one last time and they rode through the desert. They passed the Junkard, through the forests and into the neighborhoods where morning joggers and waiting bus patrons stared when they saw them charging through. Everything that had happened was starting to blur and bleed together, getting more confusing as time went on. The feeling like a fog, a slowing of the mind.

"No.. nope.. no.. uh.. Oh! Stop! This one! It's this one!" Tie pointed to Guy's house. Foster pulled on the reins, stopping Scooter.
"You sure? All these houses look the same, and I don't know about yall but boy, I'm getting rather sleepy," Foster yawned. He wasn't the only one.
"He's right," Guy breathed, "This is the place.." He slid off of scooter and fell to the ground. There were little sprouts of black hair coming out of his head.

"You good Guy?" Stickers asked.
Guy gave a weak thumbs up, but he also had little proto 'fingers' that weirded them out. Foster noticed.
"Well bless your heart..." He whispered in absolute disgust.

Tie led Guy to the door but they both covered their ears at the hissing of the emitter. Tie tried to will himself to pull the door open but he had to run back to the yard to recover. Guy followed. He had almost forgotten about them. It felt like a lifetime ago. At least the pain was distracting.

From behind them Stickers picked up a rock and chucked it at the emitter, disarming it. Tie sighed. He went back and jumped up to the door to put a key in and turn the knob. Guy didn't feel the need to question where he got it, knowing it was a waste of brain power.

Inside was just as they'd left it. The kitchen all messed up, the clock audibly ticking. He was home now. It meant this was the end. His mind continued to cloud and disconnect his thinking. He had fought it all this way, but knowing he was home, he couldn't help it breaking away and dissolving any longer.
Every time he felt something leave him he internally thrashed as if trying to catch something, but it slipped from his grasp, falling away into the floor, formless. Before he changed too much to walk, he decided to place himself somewhere close that would make sense to his hominid self, so he climbed onto the couch and curled up into a shivering ball. Even still trying to hold his body tight, he still was hotter than a fever, shivering and sweating. Pieces on the inside were definitely shifting. He tried to cover his ears from the discomfort, but the mechanisms came from within where they could not be muted or ignored.

Tie stood by the doorway. It looked like he was about to leave.
"Bwah bwah Guy," He waved.
Guy hesitated before waving back. Something about that was definitely surprising about that. He watched Tie close the door behind him, dread stabbing him.

This was it. Now there was truly nothing left to do. He was going to forget and fade away. He was going to go to sleep and not know if he was ever going to wake up. There was even something deadly he knew he would have to face today that he had already forgotten. What was so upsetting? He gripped his face in an attempt at comfort, but he had run out of nice things to think about.

No, no, he could choose to think about fun things, like what he was going to do when he saw those rabbids again.

They were probably going to do something spectacular, whatever that looked like he wasn't sure but he knew he was delighted when they hung out. He had to believe he was going to see them again. There was a pattern his body adhered to. What happened before was bound to happen again. He just had to trust. He could sleep, he needed to sleep. He hadn't slept all this time. He needed to get to work soon, right? He really needed to catch up on his sleep. He'd wake up, that's how sleep worked of course. It was a pattern. He had to sleep. He could sleep.

8/25/2023

Title from "Borderline" by Tame Impala.